Recent content by jasmer

I would just build a dust bath--dirt and some DE--instead of adding it to the litter. Chickens will like the dust bath, and it'll minimize how much gets into the litter and negatively effects any necessary organisms.

Thanks, I think you answered clearly what I had also asked. A properly constructed chicken coop should be draft/wind free and water tight, with good ventilation. In a cold climate I really don't see how it could so much as slow down heat loss, let alone prevent it. I will add that our...

But what I'm asking is how does it hold heat in when you have vents letting all the heat out and cold air in? It would work okay in summer, provided it's not too hot and doesn't just turn into an oven, and only if well ventilated. In winter, at least where we are, the necessary ventilation...

Before you get any plans set in stone for the run floor, might I suggest looking into deep litter? Start with a generous layer of, say, pine shavings, straw, or whatever you want, really, as long as it's nice and dried out. Chicken poop will get scratched into the litter and buried instead of...

We do deep litter with just about anything. Mostly straw, but also pine shavings, grass clippings, dried leaves, pine needles, you name it, and it works fine. No bug problem, the chickens take care of that, it composts nicely and stays dry (except the uncovered part that gets rained on, and the...

I always wondered the same thing. If you've built it draft free except the ventilation, why would you waste the money insulating it when literally all the heat is going to just go up and out the vents? It's not going to hold heat if there is open ventilation, at all. ...right?

I haven't kept track of what it cost to feed our cornish x, and I haven't done freedom rangers yet, so I'm not sure how much I can actually help. I just wanted to point out that I think the entire purpose of the freedom ranger is a commercial pastured chicken, or at least a meat bird that does...

We have 4 cornish cross birds out in our chicken coop--3 hens and a rooster. They're about 4 months old, they forage, they scratch, they have good, strong legs, they're active, they're normal chickens. There was a point while they were in the brooder that I was worried about them, they just...

Yeah, we're concerned about wildlife--particularly the resident moose and all the deer that pass through. Our little lot is full of game trails. That's why I really don't want to go any higher than 4 feet on the fencing with a hotwire over the top, so the wildlife can still do wildlife...

Yeah, they're awfully cute when they're all huffy and strutting their stuff lol. Just try to keep that kind of perspective in mind. He's, what, a 9 lb bird tops? Unless he's a meat breed, in which case probably not much bigger. If he's been de-spurred there's literally nothing to fear, the...

Here's how we dealt with a sassy speckled sussex roo who took to attacking my 4 year old. We picked him up and held him. I don't know much about chicken psychology but I imagine he felt pretty defeated when he was completely helpless and all the wing flapping and pecking in the world wouldn't...

centrarchid-yeah, we wanted to do some intense rotational grazing to clear the front half of the property. After using a push lawn mower to clear over an acre already I think we're done with that lol. Once the knapweed is down, we just have a lot of grass. Depending on where it is, it grows...

Yeah, it's definitely a work in progress. We're taking our time. Next year or the following year we'll work in major pasture improvement, still deciding if I'm just going to overseed a pasture blend or tear it all up and start from scratch. The goats we're getting are about a year old, or...

Also, just want to clarify I'm thinking in future terms, not present. Presently we have a tiny flock and one goat. Soon another goat. In the future, beginning this year or next, we're adding sheep, cornish x or freedom rangers for the freezer, a pig, ducks, turkeys, probably some more...